On the Relationship Between Type and Token Frequencies: Replicating Berg (2014) with Lexical Data from Brazilian Portuguese

This study proposes to reapply Berg's (2014) methods to investigate the relationship between lexicon and language use in British English through type and token frequencies, but using a new sample: the lexicon of Brazilian Portuguese. Following the author's methods, type and token frequencies will be compared in eleven basic distinctions at the phonological, morphological, lexical, and lexico-syntactic levels of Brazilian Portuguese. This proposal has the potential to clarify the extent to which phonological, morphological, and lexico-syntactic distinctions are reflected in actual production, and consequently in linguistic acquisition and variation. Studies like this have focused on the English language, but their replication to other languages can show the distinction between universal and language-specific phenomena, as well as prove (or disprove) the validity of Berg (2014)’s method in light of new data.